April 2004

The daffodils are blooming. They are such a bright yellow. The flowers light up the lawn like little droplets of cheery sunlight. They look like they have so much energy it can be envy inducing. April is racing along toward its conclusion. Spring does go so fast. Next time I turn around it will be [...]

I knew it had been a while, but I was shocked to see how long it's been since I last wrote an entry. I wish I could say I've been too busy gardening, but I've just been too busy. I won't go into all the gory details, but highlights include my 18-year-old stove unexpectedly dying--necessitating [...]

Which vegetables are appreciative of the calcium in eggshells? I noticed several people mentioning it in the comments. Our chickens are starting to put off a dozen eggs a day, so I'm not exactly short on egg shells (but how shall I use the eggs?). I just wonder what the most effective way to use [...]

As I've said before, this is my first year trying wall-o-waters. But, before I get to my experience, I noticed that some guy name John Delaney had a few words on Wall O Waters. Too expensive? Yes, most certainly. Almost everyone I've asked about wall-o-waters has said "I've never tried them, they're too expensive. Overrated [...]

My two plum trees arrived yesterday. I have been very pleased with the condition and packing of everything that I've bought from St. Lawrence Nurseries. The plants are always well wrapped and in good condition. I can tell a lot of personal work went into packing the plants. So far I've bought grape vines, a [...]

...and I don't think I can take it, 'cause it too so long to rake it, and I'll never have the energy again... (You are supposed to sing that to MacArthur Park, for those of you who are old enough to remember the song, and sing it with great drama, please!) Yes, I left my [...]

Here we go again. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas - about an inch of snow, not much by U.P. standards, but more than we like in April. It won't hurt the bulbs that are on their way up (about 2-3 inches). Got my seedlings that I planted in vermiculite pricked out [...]

Actually found some crocuses in bloom in the lawn, which is still brown. And , a sure sign of spring in the UP, a flock of Canadien geese went over, headed north. Guess we're going to have apring up here, even if it is going to be in the thirtys the next few days!

When we moved into this place there were three original apple trees of undetermined origin, a pear tree of also undetermined stock, and a concord grape vine. The three apple trees continue to plug along, producing fruit, or attempting to produce, every year. Harvest from the grape vine has been erratic as well, again due [...]

I finally sowed most of my seeds - 11 kinds of tomatoes, 3 types of eggplants, 5 kinds of peppers and a tomatillo. I still have to label them all - I have a detailed schematic, but if I lose that, I am in trouble. I used popsicle sticks last year, but I am out, [...]